Texas Paid $28.3M for Broadband Poles on the Applicant's Word
Summary
Texas voters set aside $75 million to help replace utility poles so broadband could reach rural homes with none. An October 2025 audit by the State Auditor's Office found the Comptroller's Office paid out $28.3 million of it -- for 19,066 poles -- without a process to independently verify that a single pole stood in an unserved area, as the law requires, or that the self-reported costs were accurate. The applicants' notarized affidavits were the check.
The program refunds the lesser of 50% of costs or $5,000 per pole⧉ when a pole reaches an "unserved" spot -- no internet at 25 Mbps down/3 up. The Comptroller's Office confirmed poles were in Texas, in the eligible window, and reasonably priced, catching duplicates and sending 20 applications back for correction. What it never checked: location. By applicants' own count, 11,628 of the 19,066 poles⧉ -- 61% -- cluster in just 7 of Texas's 254 counties. No pole, in that cluster or the other 117 counties, was verified on the ground.
View data as table
| Paid for replaced poles | 28.3 | 38% of the fund, disbursed on applicant affidavits without independent pole-location or cost verification |
|---|---|---|
| Remaining in the fund | 46.7 | Balance not yet awarded |
View data as table
| 7 most-concentrated counties | 11,628 | 61% of all replaced poles -- none independently confirmed on-site |
|---|---|---|
| 117 other counties | 7,438 | The remaining 39% |
The audit's paperwork chapter, rated LOW, found the 31 funded applications complete and payments timely -- the gap sits entirely on whether the money reached real unserved-area poles, rated MEDIUM. The Comptroller agreed to a monitoring plan⧉, contracting KPMG in January 2025, finalized August 2025, with location and cost verification starting January 2026 -- after the $28.3 million had already gone out.
- $28.3 million moved on affidavits, not verification. No independent check that a pole served an unserved area, or that its claimed cost was real.
- The spending concentrates where nothing was checked. 61% of reimbursed poles sit in 7 counties, self-reported, with zero on-site verification anywhere.
- The fix comes after the money. Verification starts January 2026, months after the $28.3 million was paid out.
The audit does not allege any pole was misplaced or any cost inflated -- its finding is the Office lacked a process to independently verify those facts. Figures from State Auditor's Office Report No. 26-003 (October 2025), covering applications, awards, and payments September 3, 2024 through May 31, 2025.
Sources(2) ▾
- Texas State Auditor's Office, An Audit Report on the Broadband Pole Replacement Program and Fund at the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts (Report No. 26-003) (2025-10) — The Texas State Auditor's Office performance audit of the Broadband Pole Replacement Program and Fund administered by the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts, covering applications, awards, and payments from September 3, 2024 through May 31, 2025. Finds the Comptroller's Office reviewed poles for location within Texas and cost reasonableness but did not have a process to independently verify that replaced poles were in unserved areas as required, or that applicants' self-reported replacement costs were accurate -- and as of August 2025 had not collected underlying cost support or conducted on-site verification; the Office paid $28.3 million on the strength of applicants' notarized affidavits. Chapter 1 rated MEDIUM; Chapter 2 (application completeness and payment accuracy) rated LOW. Fetched directly from sao.texas.gov and converted with pdftotext -layout. sao.texas.gov · original document
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Broadband Development Office, Broadband Pole Replacement Program (2026-08) — The administering agency's own program page for the Broadband Pole Replacement Program. Corroborates the $75 million dedicated fund (Proposition 8, November 2023), the reimbursement cap (the lesser of 50 percent of eligible expenses or $5,000 per pole), the two funding rounds ($18.5 million in awards in September 2024 and $9.8 million in January 2025, which sum to the audit's $28.3 million total), and the remaining fund balance of $46.7 million. Used only to corroborate figures the audit independently establishes. comptroller.texas.gov · original document
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Texas set aside $75 million to help replace rural broadband poles. An October 2025 audit⧉ found the Comptroller's Office paid out $28.3 million of it -- 19,066 poles -- without a process to independently verify a single one stood in an unserved area, as the law requires, or that the self-reported costs were accurate. Applicants' notarized affidavits were the check.